Wayne's Toys R Us HQ Sold For Way Less Than What It's Worth: Rpt.

WAYNE, NJ — The former Toys R Us headquarters in town was sold for a fraction of what its worth, according to a report.

CBRE Group Inc. announced the sale of the 191-acre campus in a news release in March, but did not provide the sale price, nor did it name the buyer.

Point View Wayne Properties purchased the Geoffrey Way property for $19 million, nearly a fifth of its $94 million market value, according to NorthJersey.com.

The land is zoned for office use and the 621,000-square-foot office building overlooks the Point View Reservoir.

It could take more than a year to come up with a plan to redevelop the site, according to the NorthJersey.com report, but CBRE previously stated the buyer would "enhance the site for multiple uses."

"There are a lot of balls in the air, so nothing is definitive," Daniel Mladenovic, the agent representing Point View Wayne Properties, told NorthJersey.com.

The property housed the former Toys R Us headquarters for 16 years. It was built in 1962. Toys R Us renovated it into a state-of-the-art facility when it took over the property.

A once-dominant toy retailer, Toys R Us shuttered all of its 735 United States stores last year after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2018.

The bankruptcy filing came amid slumping sales and mounting debt, which grew to about $5 billion. Toys R Us, who once dominated the retail toy business, faced increasing competition from Amazon, Walmart and Target. The chain was set to close about 180 of its stores, or about 20 percent.

A federal bankruptcy judge ruled in late 2017 that Toys R Us may pay 17 executives about $14 million in incentive bonuses if it hits a certain earnings amount.

Attorneys representing the company argued that the bonuses would help executives focus on increasing sales during the past holiday season.

A $20 million financial assistance fund was created to help thousands of former Toys R Us employees who were laid off as part of the company's bankruptcy.

Related:

• Toys R Us Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Outlines Strategy
• Former Toys R Us Headquarters In Wayne Sold
  
• Everything Must Go: NJ Toys R Us, Babies R Us Closing Sale On Now

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com